Unconditional
by MiraculousTalenny
Summary: When the island is shaking and 2D hears relentless gunfire outside, he can't help but feel like something is terribly wrong. With his door accidentally left unlocked, 2D goes to investigate and search for Murdoc. Part three in the works. Murdoc and 2D need each other. Murdoc and Noodle become better friends. Part one happens in Phase 3, part two and three happens in Phase 4. 2DOC!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So the entire Gorillaz timeline confuses me. Did 2D actually get eaten by that blasted whale? I know he got apparently got to Wobble Street with some man's help. But if he was eaten, did it happen in Rhinestone Eyes, Broken, or before Doncamatic? I don't know, but I'm going with what I believe for this one-shot. This one-shot is in the midst of what takes place in the Rhinestone Eyes animatic. Go check out the amazing animation of it by Richard Van As if you haven't.**

 **Anyways, this is 2Doc. I'm new to Gorillaz and this is possibly my first FanFic for them if I haven't published the other FanFic I'm currently working on, which is also 2Doc. So in advance, I apologize if there is a FanFic like this out here somewhere. I haven't read a lot of Gorillaz FanFiction.**

 **Also, I'm new at writing male x male Fan Fiction. I've never had anything against it, it's just I've never had any inspiration to write about gay couples in other cartoons, while with this cartoon band I have been blessed with so many ideas.**

 **WARNING: Blood, fire, slight abuse, and light fluff. Sort of sad ending.**

 **Anyways, enjoy! If you all like it, I may make it a two-shot! Please let me know in the reviews!**

* * *

Gunshots.

2D's bedroom was underwater but he could hear the raging gunfire outside on the beach of plastic debris.

 _Mus' be tha' bleedin' Cyborg shooting down seagulls again.._.

It was common for seagulls to come and pick at the pink-painted plastic of Murdoc's island. They came looking for nesting materials or rotting sea life that had been washed up ashore.

Cyborg saw it as an opportunity to perfect her aim. Or Murdoc did, seeming as he programmed her to shoot those birds down.

2D let out an annoyed groan, squishing his head underneath his pillow to block out the rapid firing, and to ignore the gut feeling that there was something deadly wrong with Murdoc at this moment.

The singer scoffed at the thought, tossing his pillow across the room.

 _Of course, there's something wrong with Murdoc! He fuckin' kidnapped meh and locked meh in an underwater bedroom with a blasted whale swimmin' out me window!_

2D vowed to get a diary with a lock next time. Or maybe not keep a diary at all once he was out of here. If he ever got out of here.

It was only because of Murdoc's nosiness that he got a bedroom with a fuckin' whale to keep him incarcerated.

 _He built a robot out of Noodle's DNA and turned 'er into a killin' machine!_

2D didn't know if Murdoc had a heart or not after that. Who the fuck replaces a dear person with a robotic version, made if that person's DNA? Murdoc Faust Niccals, that's who.

Poor Noodle was dead. 2D hadn't a doubt about it. The El Mañana video shooting went horribly wrong and now the girl they'd raised since the age of ten was dead.

All of it being Murdoc's fault for the selfish need of fame and popularity.

As if performing onstage in a cape and dirty underwear wasn't enough recognition for the bassist, back when Gorillaz was still a band.

2D bit his lip, holding in a sob. He needed painkillers. Those relentless gunshots and remembering Noodle was giving him a much-unneeded migraine.

2D downed a handful of painkillers he took from his pocket, not counting how many he took.

 _Only thin' Murdoc can do 'ight is gettin' me muh painkillers._

Minutes passed by before the entire island seemed to shake violently. 2D nearly topped off his bed. The lights in his room dimmed and miscellaneous framed pictures on the walls fell, smashing on the ground. His keyboards fell forwards from their perches against the walls; random keys flying off at the impact.

 _Wot the fuck was that?!_

The singer stood up, running into the corner closest to his door. 2D suddenly didn't feel very safe. Hell, he never felt safe here, to begin with!

Something was wrong. Something in his gut was telling him that those gunshots outside weren't Cyborg practising her aim.

 _Didn' Murdoc mention sumthin' 'bout pirates when we were in the submarine?_

Wait…

 _Murdoc!_

The blue-haired keyboardist suddenly didn't care about every horrible thing he'd been put through by the bassist. He leapt from the dark corner to his door, turned the knob and yanked particularly hard, expecting it to be locked.

It wasn't.

2D nearly went flying into the wall as his door swung open widely. Outside, the hallway lights of the corridor were flashing red in warning.

He didn't waste another clumsy second running to the elevator, jamming the button hurriedly until the doors opened.

The island's shaking resumed; this time the whale attacking his underwater bedroom.

It went unnoticed. So did the hand grabbing the whale.

Anxiety coursed through his veins. 2D was worried he'd have a panic attack before he reached Murdoc's study studio.

The elevator doors opened and 2D didn't know where to put his foot.

There was fire everywhere. Books off the bookshelf were aflame, pictures from the walls were smashed and scattered randomly, the large windows of the studio were smashed, and the huge desk was turned over, fire eating away the polished wood. A squid lay lifeless at the edge of the room, where there previously was a huge, beautiful window looking over the gorgeous blue ocean.

2D stared for a few moments, taking in his surroundings in shock. The ocean was a dull blue; the sky was cloudy, and a plane flew by quickly, firing bullets aggressively.

 _Where's Murdoc?!_

The singer stepped out of the elevator just as the doors were shutting, his unhealthily slim body slipping through in the nick of time.

Glass crunched beneath his boots as we carefully walked through the flaming remains of the studio.

His blurry black eyes fell upon a green hand sticking out from underneath the flaming desk, limp and bloody.

"Murdoc?" The singer's voice was shaky as he quickly lifted and hauled the desk off the edge of the studio, not caring that he was burning his fingers, and watched it tumble over the edge and onto the beach below.

Murdoc lay where the desk previously was, breathing shallowly, much to 2D's relief. His greasy black fringe was pushed out of his eyes, and his grey sweater was covered in random spurts of blood. There were glass shards sticking to his cheeks and hands, and some torn holes in his sweater revealed more wounds.

2D knelt down, grabbing the unconscious man by his shoulders and pulling him upwards, shaking him back and forth. "C'mon. Wake up, Muds!"

The bassist remained unconscious, and the resuming gunfire urged 2D to lift him over his shoulder, using all his strength possible to keep himself up with the weight of Murdoc.

They had to get out of here.

Now.

2D stumbled to the elevator quickly, completely oblivious to Noodle and Russel outside the shattered window.

* * *

Murdoc stirred, groaning in pain, but didn't open his mismatched eyes. His ears were ringing, his head was sore, his hands were stinging sharply, along with his chest and knees, and his feet felt like they were dangling in mid-air.

 _Wait a bloody minute, where the fuck am I?_

Murdoc's head shot up in alarm, his eyes opening, nearly falling off of whoever had him in the process.

This wasn't his room, nor was it his studio.

 _Wot am I doin' in the elevator?_

Murdoc looked down, seeing he was being carried and growled menacingly.

 _A bloody pirate! He's gonna regret ever touchin' Murdoc Niccals._

The bassist pounded a bloodied fist into the pirate's back, and the yelp of pain that followed sounded familiar. The pirate collapsed against the wall, dropping the bassist, who landed on his feet.

 _This sod has blue hair,_ Murdoc duly noted, _much like 2D's... He even looks a bit like him._

The Satanist didn't spend any more time interrogating further.

Murdoc snatched his alleged kidnapper by his shirt collar, smirking bloodthirstily, yanking him up to a high enough level so he could knee him hard in the chest. The pirate's hat blocked his view of his face. The blow Murdoc delivered earned him another familiar yelp, and the man hacked up a mouthful of blood onto the floor violently.

Murdoc dropped the man, ready to kick him with his Cuban heels, when...

"M-Muds! Stoppit, i's meh!" 2D cowered, laying on his left side, shaking like an earthquake. His arms protected his face and his knees were brought up to his chest as a shield.

"Face-ache?" Murdoc stopped himself. He felt his chest tighten and his lips curve into a self-disapproving frown.

"Wot in the bloody 'ell were yew doin' carryin' meh?!"

 _Damnit, Murdoc! You jus' had to make the assumption that yer singer was a pirate._

"Th-the entire island w-was shakin' and yew left me door u-unlocked, s-so I-I came up to find yew an' see wot was goin' on a-an'.."

Murdoc looked away, remembering now that he'd jumped inside the studio when a blasted plane started firing at him. He remembered nothing but blackness after a loud bang and wave of heat hit him from behind.

"I-I found you u-unconscious and I c-couldn't l-leave yew there." 2D finished, wiping his bloodied mouth on his arm as he sat up weakly. His chest was tight and throbbed every time his heart beat.

 _Yes, he bloody could 'ave left me there. He'd be free of me…_

The Satanist bit the inside of his cheek to keep his lips from curling into a smile. The man who he had been treating like shite since putting him and breaking him of a coma, saved his worthless, soulless life, unconditionally. Murdoc felt grateful, happy, loved, even.

But deep down, Murdoc knew it was because 2D was a good person and only thought of his as a "bastard bass player".

The bassist kneeled down to the lanky man on the ground carefully, ignoring the nearly unbearable searing pain of a glass shard lodged into his kneecap, and brought 2D into a gentle, meaningful hug. For once, taking his singer's injuries into consideration.

Murdoc felt his singer tense and held back his grin with more force at how awkward his arms were dangling in the air. But sadness peaked through at 2D's hesitation to hug him back.

"Thank yew, Stuart."

Finally, 2D wrapped his arms around Murdoc carefully, letting his head fall onto his warm shoulder.

 _Sort of like an apology…_ 2D smiled to himself, finding comfort in the short hug that the bassist had initiated.

He felt Murdoc smile.

Neither of them knew that this would be their last hug for a few years. The last thing 2D saw before being swallowed alive by the whale was Murdoc, screaming for him to come back, his arm outstretched to him uselessly.

Murdoc watched helplessly as the whale swims out of Russel's reach and Cyborg's aim, taking his lovely 2D with him to the depths of the deep ocean.

Tears trailed down his cheeks as he was pulled into a tight embrace by Noodle, who was also sobbing at the loss right as she returned.

Murdoc realized how much he truly loved Stuart Pot, through the abuse and denial for all those years. He'd do absolutely anything to get him back, but he was gone for good now.

 _Broken..._

 **Should I make this a two-shot?**

 **Anyways, my Instagram is miraculoustalenny. I post artwork, sneak peaks, and currently doing Inktober 2017.**

 **Leave a review if you'd like more!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So guess who got addicted to this FanFic as she was writing it and decided that it would be a three-shot/three chapter story? This maniac! Here's part two! I split this into two because it was nearing 4,000 words with the reunion that I am working on making better. More fluff. :)**

 **Anyways, this chapter is kind of on Murdoc and Noodle. Sadly, Russel is mentioned a few times. He'll be in the next chapter though!**

 **This is not MurdocXNoodle! This is 2Doc. Noodle is a great person and Murdoc needs to vent to someone else other than to his radio show.**

* * *

 _Seven Years Later…_

A wave crashed against the sand of a currently empty beach. With it, floats a limp decomposing whale. The wave retreats back to sea, taking sand and crabs with it while deserting the dead organism.

The limp whale laid in the sand of the cool beach. Mouth wide open, jaw slack; an open escape for the prisoner inside his decaying body.

Curiously ravenous seagulls circled the feast of decaying blubber. They watched, cautiously, wings silent, ready to close in, but flocked when a series of groans and panting suddenly postponed their free buffet.

A frail, skinny, and weak blue-haired man crawled out of the carcass's mouth a few moments later, out of breath, still struggling to get free; gasping and sobbing for fresh, raw oxygen that didn't smell of rancid stomach acid, rotting trash and half-digested fish. His slippery, moist hands slashed themselves fresh cuts on the teeth on the whale's jaw, but the man couldn't give a bloody damn right now.

He laid in the sand, huffing out exhaustively. letting himself catch his breath desperately before rolling onto his back. Sand stuck to his mucus-stained clothes and sticky, pale skin. His hair was slicked down against his forehead and the back of his neck, most likely from wiggling his way up the whale's mucus-coated throat.

The man clutched his mask in his left hand tightly; the same mask that he'd held onto the entire time of being inside the whale. Hot tears threatened to spill out his black eyes as the reality of being _alive_ and _free_ hit him hard, but refreshingly euphoric.

The feeling of the _normal,_ beige gritty sand, scattered smooth seashells, and the seaweed-scented breeze of the ocean's tide coming brought him an eery sense of comfort and made his heart tighten in happiness. Was it relief that he felt enveloping him, running through his veins like adrenaline usually did?

Stuart sat up, rather weakly from the years of isolation and periodic starvation. The whale never ate good meals and always ended up eating extra trash since Stuart ate any fish floating in the stomach acids. He crawled towards the water, slowly, ignoring the commotion of seagulls who had been eyeing the huge mass of rotting blubber he'd escaped from.

A sigh of satisfaction, he was now floating on his back in the shallow ocean. He watched as the sand and sickly coloured mucus was cleansed off of his body. Stray pieces of seaweed wrapped themselves around his bony limbs

The euphoric feeling of being free was short-lived, however, as 2D was struck with another obstacle. He tried to push it back into the back of his mind, but couldn't.

 _Where am I?_

2D frowned remorsely, standing up tall and walking out of the salty water. He picked his mask back up off the dry sand and hung it on a stray stick planted in the sand. Leaning against the carcass of the whale, he began looking around the place.

Beaches and beaches for miles, it seemed to the blue-haired boy.

 _Wot if I'm on a deserted island? I'm gonna die 'ere! I'll neve' see Murdoc again! Or Noods or Russel!_.

Drowning in the salt water of the ocean seemed to be a lot more comforting than having to eat rotting whale blubber, or coming to understand that he should've let himself be digested by the whale long ago.

 _How long 'as it been?_

Most of his time in the whale was spent dealing with severe insomnia. He couldn't maintain sleep for, well, he didn't have a watch, but Stuart knew it wasn't long.

It didn't help that there's no pharmacy inside a whale's stomach, so out of every _horrible_ thing of being inside another organism, were the migraines.

They were the worst.

Stuart felt his eyes watering again. He closed his black eyes, letting his breathing become irregular as he vented, letting loose the burning tears.

 _Wot if Murdoc isn't even alive?_

* * *

"Murdoc, time to wake up!" A female voice broke through the silence of the black abyss of a bedroom. Murdoc loved the dark, and although this type of dark seemed nearly impossible to obtain during daylight hours, it was eerily fascinating.

Twenty-six-year-old Noodle leaned against the creaking door frame of the room with her arms crossed over her chest, waiting for a reply among the miscellaneous static and cackles of laughter that echoed through the room.

After no reply, Noodle clapped her tongue against her gums impatiently.

"Murdoc, it's five in the afternoon! You've been in here since…" The young woman trailed off, gulping. If she ever dared to finish that sentence, it'd be seconds before her death, "s-since last night. You need to eat. Russel brought Mac-D's a few hours ago."

Surely, the fairly tall figure of a man came into view, barely visible in the room's unnatural darkness.

Murdoc stared at her for a few seconds before he stepped past her, heading for his chair lift.

"Thanks, luv."

Noodle nodded, watching him disappear slowly down the stairwell.

 _It's been seven years…_

They all missed 2D. They missed his random laughing fits at nothing in particular, the enthusiasm displayed at rewatching a classic zombie-flick of his, how he'd eat more than Russel and not gain a single ounce, and how he'd respect everyone, no matter what they did, especially Murdoc.

Although his death hit the remaining members of Gorillaz and their fans hard, Noodle and Russel were taken back by how roughly Murdoc took the news. Murdoc never seemed to give a damn about the singer when he was alive, with all the beatings and the insults he'd thrown at 2D.

She and Russel had only recently arrived at Murdoc's new address after going through troubles of their own, and that was seven years long. Murdoc still hadn't healed or gotten over 2D's death.

Noodle just didn't dwell on it. She and Russel didn't want to offend or upset Murdoc in any way they could.

Hearing, or sometimes catching, Murdoc Faust Niccals _cry,_ and _blame_ himself every night was something Noodle had grown accustomed to over the last few weeks. As much as he denied it, sometimes Murdoc just needed a shoulder to cry on, a person to vent to, and warm pair of arms to comfort him. He'd never ask for it; he didn't have to.

He had Russel and Noodle for that, and whether they were aware or not, they had Murdoc for their grieving too. They had each other.

Thinking more of it now, 2D has hardly been mentioned since her and Russel's reunion with the delusional and depressed Murdoc. They claimed it was Murdoc's rule that the deceased singer not be mentioned. Although that rule was occasionally broken by Murdoc in heated arguments or insanely drunken rants, other times it was always forbidden.

Noodle blinked her stinging greens eyes before following the bassist down the stairs, half-heartedly observing the bags under Murdoc's eyes and how pale and dry his tongue was as it dangled carelessly from his chapped lips.

"Russel got you orange juice." Noodle broke the silence, although she'd prefer Murdoc drink water from how dehydrated he appeared. Russel just didn't want to pay more for a bottle of water as juice was cheaper in restuarants.

"Hm," Murdoc mumbled, not lifting his head.

Noodle sighed heavily. This attitude was really dragging her down too, not just Russel, "Murdoc…"

"Wut?" The man snapped.

"Why don't you talk to me? We can talk. Seriously. Do you want to?"

Murdoc contemplated the option, but shook his head in disagreement. Noodle didn't press any further, blinking away the water that had gathered in her eyes. If Murdoc wanted to be stubborn, then she'd let him.

"I can't. Noodle." He suddenly said, turning to meet her saddened eyes, "Aww luv, yew know i's my fault ' _e's_ gone."

The chair lift malfunctioned, and before Murdoc could hit the bloody control panel in attempted to get moving again, Noodle intervened.

"How is it your fault? You've been saying that ever since we've arrived...please, why can't you tell me?"

Murdoc sighed, hanging his head down again. He tucked his tongue back into his mouth.

"Yew know wut? Fine. Get meh a bottle o' whiskey and vodka, an' I'll tell yew."

Noodle beamed.

After grabbing what Murdoc wanted, Noodle found him in his Hawaii-themed radio room, sitting at the table with his long legs propped up against it.

Noodle handed the old man the alcohol requested. He smiled appreciatively, "Thanks, luv,"

The girl took a seat in a chair across from the 51-year-old, who had opened and downed a quarter of the bottle of whiskey in one sip. Noodle cringed, feeling her spin shudder in her body.

When it passed, she cleared her throat.

"Now tell me."

Murdoc breathed in deeply, exhaling moments later. He held a meaningful gaze with the young lady before letting them close.

"Stuart saved meh loife." Murdoc grumbled, as if he was ashamed or embarrassed. He quickly drank from his whiskey to avoid whatever expression Noodle had to that.

Why had he agreed to this?

"Shocker." Noodle simply stated, trying not to sound surprised as if to put the bassist off on telling her the rest. Though, she was shocked. 2D could've rid of himself of the old brute, but still chose to save him?

Murdoc raised a questioning brow, but let it fall.

"I, uh...was unconscious under a flamin' desk an' 'e saved meh loife. I don' know why he did, tho. I was nothin' but harsh on the poor lad…" Murdoc began tearing up, cursing an obscene word and ducking his head to hide his tears from Noodle.

He hoped his fringe would hide them.

But Noodle saw them, and her heart tightened, remembering how her brother figure went through all of Murdoc's abuse and schemes.

But 2D cared for everyone, even Murdoc. So why was Murdoc surprised or taken back at 2D's normal act of kindness?

Not hearing a peep from Noodle urged Murdoc to continue. He chugged more of the whiskey, thankful that he had finished a bottle earlier on or he wouldn't be able to confess this as easily as he was.

"It's all meh fault. Noodle, if I hadn' kidnapped 'im and forced 'im to do the vocals for the album, 'e'd probably still be 'ere!"

Noodle's eyes widened. She hadn't heard about any of this.

"Kidnapped? So he didn't go with you by free will?" Noodle asked timidly, almost craving a sip of Murdoc's whiskey. Even though she was now an adult, the bastard bass player wasn't going to let the girl he'd known since the age of ten drown her sorrows in alcohol like he does. He infamously claimed that he didn't want her to die a copy.

At her timidly asked question, Murdoc stupidly realized that Noodle was painfully unaware of how 2D was at Plastic Beach.

"Yeah, I..I kidnapped 'im 'cause I knew he wouldn't want to come back with ol' Mudsie." He laughed to himself, ignoring the tears that stained his green cheeks. "I mean, who would wanna do that? I'm an alcoholic Satan-worshippin' bastard."

Noodle sadly agreed.

The girl nodded in response, letting her smile fall to a sympathetic frown. Although 2D cared for Murdoc, no doubt about it, a kindergartener would easily know that he'd refuse to oblige to Murdoc, no matter the promises made out of desperation. Those promises would probably been broken anyways.

"L-Losin 'im… I guess it made meh realize 'ow much 'e mean' to meh. I…" Murdoc opened the vodka now, stupidly pouring some into the whiskey bottle, until it was half-and-half.

Noodle cringed as he downed so much it leaked out the sides of his mouth, trailing down the sides of his chin.

She could only imagine how _nasty_ that must've burned and tasted. But Murdoc was Murdoc, and alcohol was alcohol

"...I loved him, Noodle luv."

Noodle didn't know what to say. Murdoc apparently loved 2D. _Loved_ him! Love was such a strong word, was Murdoc over-exaggerating? But the man never ever told anyone he loved them, no matter. Not even her! And she was like a daughter to him! Murdoc wasn't an idiot.

Call her stupid to believe a man like Murdoc, but Noodle believed him.

"You loved him?" She asked, offering a hesitant smile. She realized with a warm, fuzzy feeling how cute the two would've been together and that Murdoc had finally given in. He didn't care if he was being seen as weak or a girl; he had a _heart._ Murdoc still was a human, even under that sickly green skin and greasy black-blueish hair.

Murdoc lifted his head, sobbing at the friendly smile on her face. "I still do. I've been mourning for seven years, Noodle. Wot I 'ave dun is unforgivable. I'm not an oblivious bloke. I knew damn well tha' Stuart was terrified o' whales; tha' he was addicted to 'is painkillers, and tha' 'e 'adn't been eatin' them meals tha' bloody Cyborg prepared for 'im."

Noodle stood up, wrapping her arms around the stinking man and let hot salty tears trail down her own cheeks. Murdoc leaned into her touch, putting the alcohol back on the table before wrapping himself around her in a rare, accepted embrace.

* * *

 **Leave a review if you want part three out quicker! Reviews motivate me :) and I'll be replying to all of them next chapter!**


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